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“How interesting are things about to get, Grandma Kate? Should I call Adam?”
“Now, Jake, you know you’ve already done that. I’ve had a very busy morning. I placed a few calls of my own because if there’s one thing I can’t abide, it’s waiting for people to get a clue and get a move on.”
“Oh, God.”
Kate patted his hand. “You need to learn how to let things go, dear. There’s no sense in stressing about matters you can’t change. Just…learn to go with the flow.”
Jake chuckled. “That’s rich, coming from you.” His tone, filled with kindness, combined with his words felt like the nicest compliment.
“After those calls, I received a couple back. First, I heard from Connor Talbot. He and Mel received word that Brody Carp was on his way toward Waco. They, of course, managed to pick up his trail and sounded more than a little concerned that he drove through Wacon and was, apparently, on his way toward Lusty. I assumed that I was their second call—Adam being the first.”
“You’re right, there. Adam called me a half-hour before you did.”
“And my last call, just moments ago, was from Kat. She wanted to let me know she was following another rather odious man by the name of Douglas Vance, who seemed to be coming this way as well.”
“You do love your little intrigues, don’t you?”
“Well…y’all did ask me to stick around home instead of traveling the globe a few years back, if you’ll recall. Did you expect I’d stay home and retire to a rocking chair?”
Jake shook his head, but he was smiling. They’d meandered through town—she wouldn’t nag him about driving so slowly—and were approaching the final stop sign before the roadhouse.
“Grandma Kate, if I ever see you retiring to a rocking chair, I swear I’d invent some excitement, just to get you moving again.”
“You’re a good man, Jake Kendall, and a good grandson.”
Jake eased his car into a parking spot. He raised one eyebrow when he noticed the sleek silver Tesla roadster. Then he met her gaze, one eyebrow raised.
“Full disclosure, then. Your brother-in-law Peter, as well as Joe Grant, are inside, as it was their shift to keep an eye on our Jenny. Marcus and Jeremy have taken up position, as well. I couldn’t not include them, all things considered. Angela and Ricoh should be enjoying a nice lunch, as are Cord and Jackson, who brought Parker and Dale with them. And, of course, soon to join us are three licensed investigators. And Adam, I’m quite certain, by now is very close by, his finger on the pulse, and will be ready to move as soon as everyone’s here.”
Jake sighed. “And, I will assume that you’re armed, as well.”
“Well, of course, I am. One or both of those men could prove to be dangerous. We have to be ready for anything.”
“Well, all right then. What am I worried about?”
“You really are a good man, Jake Kendall. Now let’s go have something to eat and watch everything unfold.”
* * * *
Jenny couldn’t help but smile every time she saw Angela and Ricoh together. They weren’t given to overt PDAs. But there was magic in the way they looked at each other and in the smiles—soft, subtle and, yes, sexy—that passed between them. And in how, like now, he reached over and laid one of his hands on both of hers.
That right there is true love. Jenny had heard some more of their story. She didn’t know if she could wrap her head around that kind of love. They’d been separated suddenly, even violently, had been forced to live apart for thirty years, had even been fed lies, and yet…
And yet. Love stayed. Love endured. Love waited.
Unable to resist, she took a moment to gaze at her men, sitting with Jackson and Cord, clearly deep in discussion. She tried to look at them objectively, but that was a waste of time. She couldn’t be objective when it came to Parker and Dale Benedict.
Who knew what surprises life held? Who could say that the reason she’d been born, the reason she’d lived, hadn’t been to meet these two men at this place, and at this time, and to begin to build a life with them?
Jenny knew she wasn’t alone in believing that life happened as it was meant to, that things usually turned out as they should, but she wondered if that was always the case. Or did fate sometimes require a boot in the butt or a gentle nudge?
